8 Awkward Moments & Funny Takeaways From Apple’s iPhone 6s Event

At Apple’s hyped ‘Hey Siri’ media event yesterday, the Cupertino giant introduced both upgrades to its existing gadget lineups as well as completely new products and accessories. With the exception of a select few, we can’t really say the announcements came as a surprise, since rumors surrounding the September 9 event had already revealed much of what the event was going to be about way in advance.

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t an absolute delight to watch the keynote live, though. Apart from the few things the rumors hadn’t covered, the live event had a pleasantly surprising amount of awkward presentation moments to offer and the usual swarm of disappointed viewers dissing the company over Twitter and other social media with varying brands of humor. So, naturally, we went and put together a collection of takeaways from the event that cracked us up.

The Microsoft Cameo

That’s right. Didn’t you hear? For first time in an Apple event, rival company Microsoft actually joined the show for a presentation of their own, and as mildly historic events go, the lead-up to it was underwhelming, to say the least. Apple’s Phil Schiller almost sounded sarcastic, albeit unintentionally, in his flattering introduction of the Redmond company.

Calling a Microsoft exec onto the stage for an Office demo on the new iPad Pro, Apple’s senior VP of Marketing commented, “and who better to know about productivity than Microsoft”, following it up with a long pause and – we’re guessing due to exclamations of disbelief in the audience – a reassuring “yeah” at the end. It was either that or sheer shock from the announcement that sent a ripple of laughter through the audience.

The whole thing was more awkward than Jeff Williams’ Apple Watch presentation.

Jeff Williams’ Awkward Apple Watch Presentation

Not everyone can be as charismatic and fluid on stage as the late Steve Jobs, but presenting new Hermes models, Sport casings and bands for the Apple Watch at yesterday’s event, Jeff Williams looked like he was going through a special kind of hell. A couple light years out of his comfort zone and with nerves that seemed in dire need of a prescription drug, the senior VP of Operations kept fumbling through his presentation, punctuating his delivery with awkward pauses every now and then.

“… and third-party complications. Third-party complications… this is a big deal.” said Williams, not sounding particularly sure of what he was saying. “Isn’t that great?” he said at another point in his shaky presentation, repeating the question a second time in a lower voice, almost as if to himself or, you know, Gollum. “That’s why we do what we do. That’s why we do what we do.”

Crossy Road Presentation

One of the very few intentionally funny moments of the event was when the Crossy Road team came up to the stage to present an Apple TV version of their iOS game, and its new multiplayer mode. “It’s just so much fun to push and block your friends,” said Andy Sum of Hipster Whale as the audience chuckled at his character being pushed around by his multiplayer partner and flattened by a speeding car.

Craig Federighi’s Murder-Face Selfie

Another intentional laugh-out-loud moment was when senior VP Software Engineering Craig Federighi demoed the new software flash for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus front-facing camera by taking a selfie with what we can only describe as an authentic murder-stare.

If you look into his eyes long enough, you can feel your soul dying.

Eddy Cue’s Shirt

All we’ll say about this is that thank the heavens Eddy Cue isn’t Apple’s Chief Design Officer. The interesting thing here is that Eddy knows he needs to burn all his shirts in a grand bonfire, as can be inferred from the comment he made about GILT’s upcoming fashion app for Apple TV likely to be a big hit in his house while pointing at his awfully bright red shirt. He just chooses to continue torturing onlookers.

“Clearly, that’s gonna be a big hit in my house.” You said it.

The Apple Pencil Announcement & Its Twitter Reception

Apple’s iconic tendency to assign utterly simple brand names to its products got another chance to rear its head yesterday. As if to acknowledge the fact, the audience laughed audibly when Schiller announced the name of the Apple Pencil, causing the Apple exec to respond with a sheepish smile that would put sheep to shame, if that makes sense. He made one of those faces a fifth grader would make after being chewed out by his geography teacher for calling Canada an island.

Viewers sending out tweets about the event from home, of course, weren’t nearly as lenient as the on-site audience with their reactions to the concept of the iPad Pro accessory and its hefty $99 price tag.

That Steve Jobs Quote About The Stylus

Shortly after rumors of a new stylus for the iPad Pro began to surface, the prospect began to get criticized in light of Apple’s stance on the matter under Jobs. Especially after the Apple Pencil became official yesterday, the internet didn’t shy away from pointing out the irony in the fact that Jobs himself had no love for the stylus.

The Apple co-founder’s stylus-shaming at the 2007 reveal of the first iPhone is oft-quoted and fondly remembered. “Who wants a stylus?” said Jobs while explaining how users would interact with the device. “You have to get ’em, and put ’em away, and you lose ’em. Yuck! Nobody wants a stylus. So let’s not use a stylus.”

That Rejuvenated Surface vs iPad Pro Comic

A three-year old comic predicting an iPad keyboard cover did rounds on the web yesterday shortly after the iPad Pro’s Smart Keyboard accessory was announced. Found on HijiNKS ENSUE, the comic takes a jab at the general reception of Apple products that borrow ideas from competitors – in this case, the Type Cover accessory for the Microsoft Surface.

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